Apparatus for manufacturing management using a wireless device

ABSTRACT

A method of inventory management is described. Upon activation of a button on a wireless device, the wireless device having a light source and a transceiver with a unique media address corresponding to a unique product, the device broadcasts a first signal including an order command and the unique media address by the transceiver via a wireless medium. A central controller then receives the first signal, identifies the unique media address included in the first signal, and using a database, identifies the unique product associated with the unique media address.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for improvingmanufacturing management using a wireless device.

[0002] The manufacturing process requires careful logistical planning toproduce products as quickly as possible. An issue that may arise on amanufacturing floor or an assembly line is the constant need toreplenish parts used in the manufacturing process. This need presentslogistical difficulties in that each worker or work station may haveonly limited space to store the necessary parts on an assembly line.Moreover, each worker or work station may have a different number ofparts and thus run out at different times on the manufacturing floor.Accordingly, the bulk of the parts used on the manufacturing floor orassembly line may be located offsite at a central parts facility. Suchparts must be transported from the central parts facility to each workeror workstation on a case by case basis.

[0003] Prior art systems have attempted to solve this problem byproviding a wired electronic notification system for each worker or workstation. Upon realizing that a shortage of parts will occur in the nearfuture, the worker activates the notification system to notify thecentral parts facility. The wired system then ascertains the identity ofthe worker and the type of parts needed.

[0004] The disadvantages of the wired electronic system are many.Fashioning such a system in a wired fashion adds an additional level ofcomplication to an already complex manufacturing system. Moreover, thewired system lacks the flexibility to be quickly reconfigured based onthe changing layout of a manufacturing facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Therefore, the proposals of the related art fail tocomprehensively overcome the problems discussed above and other relatedproblems. Advantages of this invention will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theadvantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means ofthe elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

[0006] The present invention provides an efficient wireless-based callreplenishment system that is designed to order replacement parts on areal-time, as-needed basis. This system makes the manufacturing processeasier by eliminating the wiring necessary to establish the prior artwired system. Such a system may also be easily reconfigured based on thechanging layout of the manufacturing process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the wireless pendant, whichis an embodiment of the present invention.

[0008]FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart illustrating an operation of asystem of the present invention.

[0009]FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system implementing thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present inventionconsists of a wireless pendant 10 that is designed to order replacementparts in the manufacturing process in a simple and efficient manner.FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless pendant 10 with a body 12, a push-button16 and an LED 14.

[0011] Pendant Modes

[0012]FIG. 2 illustrates the general operation of the wireless pendantsystem.

[0013] When activated by the user by pressing the push-button 16 (Step1010), the wireless pendant 10 will indicate to the user it has beenturned on by beginning to blink the LED 14 (Step 1020). In oneembodiment, a blink rate of 1 Hz at a 20% duty cycle (200 ms on) isproposed. Based on the activation the wireless pendant 10 will “wake up”and send identification data over a wireless network. In one embodiment,the wireless network is based on the IEEE 802.11 protocol. This datawill be used to uniquely identify each wireless pendant 10. The uniqueidentification (possibly the MAC address) will be looked up against adatabase to determine what component and location the activated wirelesspendant 10 represents (Step 1030).

[0014] Upon receipt of the data the wireless network will reply to thewireless pendant 10 that its request has been accepted (Step 1040). Inone embodiment, once the reply is received the wireless pendant 10 willreduce the blink rate of the LED 14 to 0.5 Hz at 10% duty cycle (same200 ms on) (Step 1050). It is anticipated that the time from initiationto confirmation may be 5 seconds or less. It is assumed that at thistime (between Initiation and Acknowledgement) the wireless pendant 10 isawake and waiting for the network to reply to it. If the wirelesspendant 10 has to stay awake for an extended period of time battery lifemay be reduced.

[0015] Once the wireless pendant 10 has received the acknowledgementthat the wireless network has received the request the wireless pendant10 may go to into a power save mode. At this point the system will putthe request in the queue and the wireless pendant 10 status will notchange until a forklift driver retrieves the request from the queue formaterial delivery or the requestor pushes the button again to cancel theinitial request.

[0016] After acknowledgement, it is assumed that wireless card and microcan sleep (power save mode) and poll the wireless network for data (onceper N minutes) for any updates. The on time during for polling may beless than 5 seconds. If it is longer battery life may be reduced, butthis may be traded against a longer polling period.

[0017] Once a driver takes the request off of the queue there will be anupdate on the status in the network to Delivery Pending. The DeliveryPending information will be sent to the wireless network and during thenext poll of the network by the wireless pendant 10 it will retrieve theupdated status (Step 1060). In one embodiment, the LED 14 blink willthen become a double blink at a 0.25 Hz rate (Step 1070).

[0018] After receipt of the Delivery Pending status the wireless pendant10 will go back to a polling mode and wait for fulfillment command.

[0019] Upon delivery of the requested material the driver will changethe request status to fulfillment by using the forklift terminal (Step1080). The information from the forklift terminal will be sent to thesystem and a fulfillment message will be sent to the wireless networkfor retrieval by the wireless pendant 10 during its next poll. Upon thenext wireless pendant 10 poll the wireless pendant 10 will receive thefulfillment message from the wireless network (Step 1090), shut the LED14 (Step 1100) and shut down.

[0020] The requestor may cancel an acknowledged request prior to thedriver picking it up off of the queue. If the request is in theacknowledgment phase on the network and on the wireless pendant 10 therequestor may cancel it by pressing the button again. When pressed thewireless pendant 10 will send a message to the wireless network againand the network, perhaps knowing that particular wireless pendant 10 hada request in the acknowledgement phase, will reply to the wirelesspendant 10 that the request has been canceled. Upon receipt of thatreply the wireless pendant 10 will shut the LED 14 and return to itsquiescent state.

[0021] Once a request has been picked up off the queue the request willhave a status on the network of Delivery Pending, but due to the latencyof the polling technique the wireless pendant 10 would still be in theacknowledgement phase. At this point the request can no longer becanceled. If the requestor did try to cancel at this point the networkwould respond with a message that would update the wireless pendant 10status LED 14 indicating that the driver was in route (DeliveryPending). A graphic depicting flash rates for each state is presentedbelow: Phase Flash Rate Idle

Initiation

Acknowledgement

Delivery Pending

Fulfillment

Cancellation

[0022] In an alternative embodiment, an speaker may be installed inplace of or in addition to using an LED 14. This would provide auralconfirmation of the status of the request in the same manner as the LED14 provides visual confirmation.

[0023] Wireless Pendant Physical Overview

[0024] In one embodiment, the wireless pendant 10 will be comprised of ahousing, a serial wireless network card, an antenna, an activationbutton, an indicator LED 14 (on a flex or PCB) a “carrier” PCB and abattery pack. In one embodiment, a portable unit can be made usingdisposable batteries. The polling period N may be increased if needed toextend battery life. The polling period will determine the latency ofthe wireless pendant 10 s status updates.

[0025] The “carrier” PCB will contain the circuitry toregulate/condition the supplied battery power and be the interfacebetween the button, LED 14, processor and wireless card. The “carrier”PCB will have a battery threshold circuit to send a signal to thewireless card (or processor) to indicate that battery power is low andthat the wireless pendant 10 requires service.

[0026] The wireless pendant 10 assembly may be a stack up with thebattery on the bottom followed by the carrier PCB, the wireless card andthen the antenna. The button/led circuit would be minimized (to reduceRF interference) and placed at the top of the stack. Based on this, thewireless pendant 10 will have an orientation associated with its RFperformance, the accessibility of the button and the visibility of theLED 14.

[0027] Call Button

[0028] The Call Button can be broken into four major subparts, involvingthe design and construction of

[0029] Call Button Hardware

[0030] Call Button Firmware Software

[0031] Call Button Message Server Software

[0032] Call Button Application-layer Server

[0033] Call Button Hardware—this is the design and assembly of thebutton itself. The design consists of an enclosure, microcontroller,button, radio card, battery, and associated circuits on a PC In oneembodiment, a Serial OEM wireless radio card manufactured by SymbolTechnologies, Inc. (the assignee of the present application) is the keycomponent in this design, because, unlike our other radio cards, it alsocontains a protocol stack. Having this all on one card saves power andmoney, of critical importance for his project. In a further embodiment,the card utilizes the 1 Mb frequency-hopping protocol.

[0034] Call Button Firmware Software—these are the commands issued bythe microcontroller to turn on/control the radio card and button LED 14,and send messages upwards to a Message Server about status changes. Toconserve power, the entire button-radio, microcontroller, etc., willturn off for periods of time, with external timing circuits firing theblinking LED 14.

[0035] Call Button Message Server—This is a layer of software, residingon a wired LAN, that accepts messages from Call Buttons, and posts tothe Application-layer Server. In one embodiment, to conserve power, UDP,and not TCP, was chosen as the protocol to implement. This is becauseUDP is a connectionless protocol, and hence we will not waste powermaintaining connections (e.g., sockets) at the Call Button end. There isnot guaranteed acknowledgements with UDP, however, so this function isbuilt into the messaging.

[0036] Call Button Application-layer Server—The application-layer Serveris also a piece of software that resides on an Server. The purpose ofthis piece of software is to provide options to communicate with variousdifferent applications. Though GE-Fanuc's Cimplicity is well establishedin the auto industry, with over 50% market share, many othermanufacturing environments have workers with limited WIP inventory, andhence need resupply during their shift. These environments would alsobenefit from a Call Button approach. Having an application-layer serverseparate from the Message Server allows the flexibility to addressvarious market segments. The call button application-layer server mayalso be OPC compliant.

[0037] Configuration of Wireless Pendant System

[0038]FIG. 3 illustrates a system of multiple wireless pendantsillustrating the advantages of the present invention. Shown in FIG. 3 isan overhead view of a factory floor 30, which may be configurable intomany different layouts depending on the assembly activities taking placetherein. The factory floor 30 has a plurality of access points 32 a, 32b, 32 c, 32 d installed at various points above the floor 30. Theseaccess points 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, 32 d are then wired to a local areanetwork (not shown). The access points 32 a, 32 b, 32 c, 32 dcommunicate with the plurality of wireless pendants 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, 34d that are strategically situated throughout the factory floor 30. Thewireless pendants 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, 34 d may be secured in place usingVELCRO or other hook and loop type fastener at the appropriate locationson the factory floor 30. Thus, when the configuration of the factoryfloor 30 is altered, the wireless pendants 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, 34 d mayalso be easily reconfigured.

[0039] Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specificationand examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope andspirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of inventory management, comprising: activating abutton on a wireless device, the wireless device having a light sourceand a transceiver with a unique media address corresponding to a uniqueproduct; broadcasting a first signal including an order command and theunique media address by the transceiver via a wireless medium; a centralcontroller receiving the first signal, identifying the unique mediaaddress included in the first signal, and using a database identifyingthe unique product associated with the unique media address; andactivating the light source at a first blinking rate.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: broadcasting a second signal including theunique media address and an acknowledgement command via a wirelessmedium; a wireless device with a transceiver with the unique mediaaddress receiving the second signal and activating the light source at asecond blinking rate; and the central controller ordering retrieval ofthe unique product from a central storage facility..
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: retrieving the unique product from thecentral storage facility; broadcasting a third signal including theunique media address and a retrieval command via a wireless medium; anda wireless device with a transceiver with the unique media addressreceiving the third signal and activating the light source at a thirdblinking rate.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: deliveringthe unique product to the location of the wireless device; broadcastinga fourth signal including the unique media address and a retrievalcommand via a wireless medium; and a wireless device with a transceiverwith the unique media address receiving the fourth signal and activatingthe light source at a fourth blinking rate.
 5. The method of claim 2,further comprising: reactivating the button on the wireless device;broadcasting a fifth signal including a cancel command and the uniquemedia address by the transceiver via a wireless medium; a centralcontroller receiving the fifth signal, identifying the unique mediaaddress included in the first signal, and using a database identifyingthe unique product associated with the unique media address; andactivating the light source at a fifth blinking rate.
 6. A method ofinventory management, comprising: activating a button on a wirelessdevice, the wireless device having a light source and a transceiver witha unique media address corresponding to a unique product; broadcasting afirst signal including an order command and the unique media address bythe transceiver via a wireless medium using the IEEE 802.11 protocol; acentral controller receiving the first signal, identifying the uniquemedia address included in the first signal, and using a databaseidentifying the unique product associated with the unique media address;and activating the light source at a first blinking rate.
 7. The methodof claim 6, further comprising: broadcasting a second signal includingthe unique media address and an acknowledgement command via a wirelessmedium using the IEEE 802.11 protocol; a wireless device with atransceiver with the unique media address receiving the second signaland activating the light source at a second blinking rate; and thecentral controller ordering retrieval of the unique product from acentral storage facility.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:retrieving the unique product from the central storage facility;broadcasting a third signal including the unique media address and aretrieval command via a wireless medium using the IEEE 802.11 protocol;and a wireless device with a transceiver with the unique media addressreceiving the third signal and activating the light source at a thirdblinking rate.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: deliveringthe unique product to the location of the wireless device; broadcastinga fourth signal including the unique media address and a retrievalcommand via a wireless medium using the IEEE 802.11 protocol; and awireless device with a transceiver with the unique media addressreceiving the fourth signal and activating the light source at a fourthblinking rate.
 10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:reactivating the button on the wireless device; broadcasting a fifthsignal including a cancel command and the unique media address by thetransceiver via a wireless medium using the IEEE 802.11 protocol; acentral controller receiving the fifth signal, identifying the uniquemedia address included in the first signal, and using a databaseidentifying the unique product associated with the unique media address;and activating the light source at a fifth blinking rate.
 11. A wirelesspendant comprising: a housing; a wireless network card; an antenna; anactivation button; an indicator LED housed on a circuit board; a batterypack; wherein the circuit board includes circuitry to regulate powersupplied from the battery pack and interface between the activationbutton, the indicator LED and the wireless network card.
 12. Thewireless pendant as in claim 11, further comprising: a battery thresholdcircuit for sending a signal to the wireless network card to indicatethat the battery pack power is low.
 13. A system for inventorymanagement, comprising: (1) a plurality of wireless pendants installedin a manufacturing facility, wherein each of the plurality of wirelesspendants is uniquely associated with a component and is capable of beingeasily installed anywhere within the manufacturing facility, and whereineach of the wireless pendants comprises: (a) a housing; (b) a wirelessnetwork card; (c) an antenna; (d) an activation button; (e) an indicatorLED housed on a circuit board; (f) a battery pack; wherein the circuitboard includes circuitry to regulate power supplied from the batteryback and interface between the activation button, the indicator LED andthe wireless network card; (2) a wired network; and (3) at least oneaccess point; wherein the at least one access point is capable oftransmitting transmission data from the wired network to the pluralityof wireless pendants via a wireless medium and receiving reception datafrom the plurality of wireless pendants to the wired network via awireless medium; and wherein upon activation of the activation button ofone of the plurality of wireless pendants, the component uniquelyassociated with the wireless pendant is delivered to the location of thewireless pendant.